


In Your Time of Need

by LyriaBlackFrost



Series: Fic Requests [10]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Accidental Confession, Fluff, Light Angst, Multi, No P5R Beyond this Point, Pre-Relationship, Sick Character, This is a Ryuji loving zone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-11-30
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:07:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21615808
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyriaBlackFrost/pseuds/LyriaBlackFrost
Summary: Despite not saying it out loud, everyone in their group started to see Ryuji as their “mom friend” at some point. He made sure that they weren’t hurt or sad, and that they were eating well and resting enough; so, whenever one of them was feeling under the weather, they should be prepared to get pampered back to health.When it’s Ryuji’s turn to get sick, however, Akira and Ann have to take the matters into their own hands, because—apparently—the only person Ryuji is unable to take care of is himself.
Relationships: Kurusu Akira/Sakamoto Ryuji, Kurusu Akira/Sakamoto Ryuji/Takamaki Ann, Kurusu Akira/Takamaki Ann, Sakamoto Ryuji/Takamaki Ann
Series: Fic Requests [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1141385
Comments: 8
Kudos: 169





	In Your Time of Need

**Author's Note:**

> Sick Ryuji requested by an anon. I wish you weren't so right about how much we all love to write/read Ryuji angst. :')
> 
> I hope you like it!

Akira noticed something strange in Ryuji’s excessive cheerfulness that day, but thought it was just an impression, at least until they got to the Metaverse after class. Finesse had never been Ryuji’s strongest point, but that day he was being particularly careless, to the point of making Akira worry.

“Hey, Skull…” He finally said after they defeated a small group of shadows. “Is everything alright? You’re being kind of sloppy today.”

Ryuji looked at him, slightly confused.

“Am I?” he asked.

“Yes, I noticed it too,” said Ann. “Are you feeling well?”

Ryuji looked from Akira to her, seeming lost for a second.

“Ah…” He forced a smile, placing a hand on the side of his neck. “Maybe it’s ‘cause I didn’t sleep that well tonight? My bad… I’ll try harder.”

Akira frowned at that response.

“That’s not what we meant…”

Before he could continue, however, Makoto approached them.

“They’re right,” she said. “If you’re not feeling well, we should stop for today.”

“Nah, I’m fine,” answered Ryuji. “No need to worry.”

Akira and Ann exchanged an unsure glance, but didn’t prolong the subject. They continued to go down in Mementos, fighting shadows on the way. Akira kept an attentive eye on Ryuji, but his friend seemed to be doing well on his own. He was about to convince himself that he was worrying too much, when Ryuji charged against a shadow that was approaching them.

He missed. Not only that, but he also fell on the ground and stayed there, unmoving. Even the shadow seemed confused by the situation, giving Ann the chance to attack it with her whip, finishing it.

As soon as the battle came to an end, Akira and Ann ran to Ryuji, crouching by his side.

“Skull!” called Akira, turning him on his back. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah…” answered Ryuji, blinking to make his sight regain focus. “Damn, that thing hit me really hard…”

“It... didn’t?” proceeded Akira, furrowing his brow. “You kind of fell on your own.”

“What?”

He seemed confused once again. Ann leaned in his direction, clearly concerned.

“Skull... Are you _really_ feeling well?” she placed a hand on his forehead. “You’re hot… I think you have a fever.”

“Nah, I’m fine.”

Ryuji tried to shrug it off and get up, but Akira and Ann kept him sitting in place.

“You’re not fine,” insisted Ann with a slightly exasperated voice. “You’re sick, and you shouldn’t be fighting like this!”

Akira sighed, placing a hand on Ryuji’s back, rubbing it.

“Maybe we should finish it for today,” he said.

“But I’m still good to go!” insisted Ryuji.

Futaba crouched next to them, reaching for Ryuji’s face and squeezing his cheeks.

“No, you look like shit,” she said. “I think we should go back too, before you pass out, or throw up everywhere.”

Makoto nodded.

“You shouldn’t push yourself,” she said. “It’s not like we have a deadline for this.”

“True,” agreed Yusuke. “For now, we can do nothing but wait until Okumura has a change of heart.”

Ryuji seemed to shrink under all that attention, keeping his gaze on the ground. Akira playfully messed his hair.

“Stop being stubborn,” he said. “We can come back here when you’re feeling better.”

Their insistence finally made Ryuji give in, clicking his tongue.

“Fine, I get it...” he said.

They went back inside Morgana, who didn’t miss the chance to joke about Ryuji’s tragic display from minutes before. On their way back, Haru recommended him a homemade tea to help with his cold, and Akira—almost certain that Ryuji wouldn’t do it for himself—tried to memorize the recipe.

“I can walk you home, if you’re not feeling well,” said Akira as soon as they got back to Shibuya.

“Don’t worry,” answered Ryuji, “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Ann observed him with a slightly suspicious gaze. “We can go with you, there’s no problem.”

Their concern made a small chuckle leave Ryuji’s lips.

“You guys worry too much,” he said. “I’ll be fine. Seeya tomorrow?”

Ann seemed as satisfied with that answer as Akira—which wasn’t much. Yet, they knew it would be useless to go against their knucklehead of a friend.

“Yes...” she said.

“See you,” said Akira. “Message us when you get home.”

“Okay.”

The group said their goodbyes, but before walking away, Ann leaned in Akira’s direction.

“Should we follow him?” she asked.

Akira sighed: he couldn’t deny that the same thought had crossed his mind.

“He’d be angry if he found out,” he said.

Ann averted her gaze, considering it for a second.

“I guess you’re right...”

They went their separate ways, Akira accompanied by Futaba and Morgana. He tried not to worry too much about his friend as he helped at the Leblanc that night, but seeing no message from Ryuji kept him awake for a while, before the exhaustion finally became stronger and made him fall asleep.

* * *

To no one’s surprise, Ryuji didn’t go to school on the next day. Akira and Ann messaged him during lunch break, but, just like on the previous night, there was no answer.

“We should go see him after class,” said Ann.

“Yeah,” agreed Akira. “I just hope nothing is wrong.”

And so they did, making that familiar trajectory to Ryuji’s house, ringing the doorbell. It took quite a while for Ryuji to open the door, a grimace taking his face when the sunlight hit his eyes. Akira would have laughed at the sight if his friend wasn’t looking so… dead.

“What are you guys doin’ here?” asked Ryuji with a hoarse voice.

“We came to check on you, of course,” said Akira.

Ann nodded.

“You didn’t answer our messages, so we got worried,” she said.

“I didn’t?” Ryuji frowned as he gestured for his friends to come in, closing the door again. “I thought I sent a message to the group yesterday… But maybe I fell asleep before that.”

“Not only that, but you didn’t answer our messages today,” said Akira.

Ryuji thought for a second, and Akira could almost hear the effort his brain was making to function.

“I didn’t see any messages…” he said, finally. “Maybe the battery died while I was sleepin’.”

Ann shook her head, letting out a tired sigh.

“Why am I not surprised?” She looked at him, and her expression softened a little. “How are you feeling today?”

“I’m okay.”

“Yeah, and we don’t believe you.” Saying that, Akira reached for Ryuji’s forehead, touching it. “Holy shit, you’re burning!”

Ann imitated the gesture, furrowing her brow.

“Did you take some cold medicine?” she asked.

Ryuji averted his gaze.

“Not really…”

“Do you have medicine at home, at least?” she insisted.

“I dunno.”

Akira could see Ann’s irritation grow stronger with each answer.

“You’re unbelievable, Ryuji Sakamoto!” she said in a slightly loud voice, groaning before she continued. “Fine, I’ll go buy it, then!”

Without waiting for an answer, she turned to the front door again, opening it.

“I’ll borrow the key, alright?” she said. “Be back in a minute.”

Ryuji seemed about to protest, but Akira called his attention before he could.

“Let’s go back to your room,” he said. “You look tired.”

That gave Ann enough time to leave. Ryuji looked from the closed door to Akira, twisting his lips. Akira could feel another _“I’m fine”_ approaching, and decided to change the subject as he guided Ryuji to his bedroom.

“Did you eat already?” he asked.

“Not hungry.”

“Not hungry my ass. If you can make me eat when I’m sick, I’ll have you do the same. You need to eat so you can get better.”

Ryuji grumbled something in response as Akira helped him lie down again, pulling the covers over him.

“You don’t need to do this,” insisted Ryuji. “I can take care of myself.”

“No, you can’t,” retorted Akira. “I’ll use the kitchen to make something, alright?”

“Aki, you don’t—”

“I _want_ to,” Akira interrupted him without raising his voice. “You stay there and rest.”

Ryuji didn’t protest. He still didn’t seem too happy with the situation, but Akira decided to take his victories where he could. He went to the kitchen, taking the ingredients to make a rice porridge. A few minutes later, Ann came back.

“Did you find it?” asked Akira.

“Yes,” she said, showing him the small plastic bag in her hand. “Where’s Ryuji?”

“In his room. I’m making something for him to eat.”

“I’ll go give him the medicine, then.”

She filled a glass with water, then went to the bedroom. A few minutes later, Akira finished cooking, placing the bowl of porridge and a cup of tea—Haru’s recipe—on a tray and taking it to Ryuji’s bedroom, finding him still lying on the bed, with Ann sitting by his side.

“Here it is,” said Akira with a wide smile, “homemade food for my favorite punk. Now sit up so you can eat.”

Ryuji did as he said, but made sure to look as annoyed as he could all the time.

“I really ain’t hungry,” he protested.

“Yeah, but you have to eat anyway.” Knowing how stubborn Ryuji could be, Akira used his best ‘sad puppy’ expression against him. “Come on… I put so much care and effort into this.”

He could see Ryuji’s resolve immediately crumble—it never failed.

“Fine…”

Akira smiled, placing the tray on Ryuji’s lap and sitting by his side, next to Ann. Despite his previous protests, Ryuji started to eat.

“Is it good?” asked Akira.

“Yeah,” Ryuji averted his gaze. “Sorry for makin’ you do this.”

Ryuji looked so dejected that Akira had a strong urge to hug him and kiss his face, but somehow managed to control it.

“Don’t worry about that,” he said, instead.

“That’s right, there’s no need to apologize,” added Ann, glancing at her phone. “It’s still early, so we’ll stay here until your mother comes back. You shouldn’t be alone like this.”

Her words made Ryuji stare at her, concerned.

“Don’t tell my mom I’m sick.”

“Why not?” asked Ann.

He didn’t answer. Ann opened her mouth, as if to insist on that subject, but soon changed her mind.

“Fine,” she said with a defeated sigh. “I’ll spend the night here then.”

Ryuji widened his eyes at her sudden decision.

“What?”

“Me too,” said Akira. “I won’t be able to sleep if I go back to the Leblanc, anyway.”

Ryuji looked from one of them to the other, then lowered his gaze, seeming uncomfortable.

“You guys don’t need to stay here…” he muttered.

“But we want to,” insisted Ann. “To make sure you’re taking care of yourself.”

“I’ll be fine on my own.”

Akira and Ann shared an exasperated look.

“Stop being so stubborn,” said Ann. “We just want to help you.”

“She’s right,” agreed Akira. “Now stop complaining and finish your meal.”

Ryuji grumbled in protest, but a glare from Ann made him obey. For the following minutes, the two of them waited as Ryuji slowly ate his food.

“I can’t eat anymore,” he said after a while.

Akira glanced at that bowl, and, seeing that he had eaten over half of the porridge, smiled.

“Alright.” He reached for Ryuji’s head, gently ruffling his hair. “You did well.”

“You talk like I’m a kid,” said Ryuji.

“You were acting like one just now,” reminded Ann. “I’ll take care of the dishes. Do you want anything else?”

Ryuji shook his head. Ann left the room, and Ryuji lied down again.

“Won’t that be bad for your stomach?” observed Akira.

He received a lazy “neh” as a response.

“I’m tired,” said Ryuji.

“Seems like the medicine is taking effect.”

Ryuji looked at him for a while, seeming a little restless.

“I think I’ll just sleep until tomorrow,” he said. “You can go home if you—”

“He isn’t talking about it again, is he?”

Ann’s voice called their attention. She approached Ryuji’s bed, looking at him with so much disapproval that Ryuji averted his gaze, embarrassed.

“I just think you shouldn’t be wastin’ your time with me,” he murmured.

“Ryuji,” said Ann. “I swear that, if you weren’t sick, I’d slap you right now.”

Normally, Ryuji would laugh at her comment, or come up with a retort. That time, however, he didn’t even look at them.

“Sorry.”

“Stop apologizing,” asked Akira. “It’s not your fault that you got sick. And it isn’t bothering us, or anything else that you might be thinking.”

“But I—”

Akira reached for Ryuji’s head, caressing his hair.

“Shh, it’s alright,” he whispered. “Just let us help you.”

For a while, Ryuji didn’t say anything. Judging by his expression, he seemed about to fall asleep, but it didn’t stop him from asking in a low voice:

“Are you mad at me?”

Ann furrowed her brow at that question.

“Why would we be?” she asked.

“I dunno…”

He shifted a little over the mattress, hesitating before continuing.

“My old man would always got mad when I got sick,” he said without looking at them. “Havin’ to waste money with medicine and all that shit. But mom always got worried, and bought it anyway… He’d get angry at her every time. So I just realized it’d be better if no one knew… Y’know, if I just stayed quiet and waited for it to go away.”

A dull pain grew on Akira’s chest. The more he learned about Ryuji’s father, the more he wanted to punch that man in the face.

“It’s over already,” he reassured Ryuji. “No one here will get angry at you for something like that, especially not your mother. You have no reason to hide these things anymore.”

“Yeah, but…” Ryuji hesitated for a moment. “I’ll still worry my mom if I don’t. She already gotta overwork herself to take care of me. I don’t wanna give her even more trouble than I already do.”

“Then you can count on us,” said Akira.

His answer made Ryuji frown, and Akira lightly pinched his cheek.

“Hey… I mean it,” he insisted. “We’re here for you, okay?”

Ryuji risked a glance at him, but soon stared at the pillow again.

“This is really dumb, ain’t it?” he said. “I should be the one takin’ the hits, not makin’ you guys take care of me.”

“Don’t say that,” answered Akira. “None of us wants you to get hurt, okay?”

“And you’re not making anyone do anything,” added Ann in a soft tone. “We’re here because we care about you.”

“That’s true,” agreed Akira. “If you try to hide these things from us, we’ll worry even more. So just tell us when something is wrong, alright? We can help each other.”

Ann sat close to Akira, placing her hand over Ryuji’s.

“You’re always taking care of us already,” she said. “Let us do the same for you.”

Ryuji was quiet for a while, as if considering their words.

“Fine…” he said with a defeated sigh. “But if I’m givin’ you trouble, you can just—”

“Then, let’s do it like this,” Ann interrupted him, “if you give us trouble, we’ll leave, alright? But since you’re not, we’re staying until you feel better.”

“Sounds good,” agreed Akira. “Deal?”

Ryuji finally raised his eyes, looking from Ann to Akira. Unexpectedly, a slight smile took his sleepy face.

“You guys are the sweetest, y’know?” he said. “I really dunno how to deal with this… I’m so lucky to have you around, and… I’m scared you’ll leave me if I do anythin’ dumb, or become useless to the team.”

“Don’t be silly.” Ann squeezed Ryuji’s hand. “Who even said we like you for how useful you are? We like you because you’re _you_.”

“Guess you do…”

Ryuji closed his eyes, the smile still on his face.

“Even if I’m like this, you’re still around…” he muttered. “That’s why I love you so much.”

Akira felt as if electricity went down his spine. He barely had the time to tell himself that Ryuji didn’t mean it in _that way_ when his friend continued.

“I love you two so much. Even if I have no chance, I just… I want you guys to be fine. I wanna keep you safe from everythin’. I…” he lowered his voice. “I wish I was good enough to be with you. But I guess you two are better without me anyway.” A small, slightly pained chuckle left his lips. “That’s fine… I’d just mess everythin’ up, like I always do… I’d just…”

Akira and Ann exchanged an uncertain glance.

“Ryuji… What are you talking about?” asked Ann in a low voice.

“I think it’s the fever,” said Akira.

Ryuji let out another chuckle.

“You say I’m slow, but you two are so fuckin’ dumb too.” His words were little more than mumbles, to the point it was difficult to make any sense out of them. “It’s so fuckin’ obvious you two like each other, like… so damn obvious.” He made a pause, and his following words were barely audible. “I just wish there was a place there for me too.”

Neither Akira nor Ann reacted to those words, staring at Ryuji while not even daring to move. Ryuji, however, didn’t say anything else, his body relaxing and his breath becoming deeper.

_How could he simply fall asleep after dropping a bomb like that at them?_

After a whole minute of awkward silence, Ann finally looked at Akira, gesturing at him to follow her out of the bedroom. He did it, trying to ignore how his heart seemed about to jump out of his mouth. They walked to the kitchen’s table, sitting across from each other. It took another minute for Ann to gather the courage to break the silence.

“Akira, about what Ryuji said…”

Akira’s stomach turned, and he kept his gaze on the table’s surface, unable to look Ann in the face.

“Which part of it?” he asked.

“All of it.” She hesitated, then proceeded with a lower voice. “Do you, maybe… like me?”

He felt as if his neck and face were on fire. Many excuses passed by his mind, but neither of them seemed good enough to take him out of that situation. Instead, Akira clenched his fists, taking a deep breath before finally answering.

“Yes.”

Ann didn’t answer for a while, and Akira started to regret his stupid honesty.

“I… I see,” she said.

Her voice was surprised, but in Akira’s anxious mind, Ann was nothing but uncomfortable and displeased. He was still thinking of what to do, and how to apologize, when she spoke again.

“Akira, I like you too.”

Akira looked up, staring at her with widened eyes, part of him certain that he had imagined that last part.

“You mean…?”

“The _girlfriend_ kind of like,” she clarified.

“Ah.”

He knew that was a pathetic response, but he was unable to react in any other way.

“This isn’t how I planned to tell you,” admitted Ann.

Akira could only nod in response. When his mind finally cleared enough for him to think again, he forced a small laugh.

“It seems Ryuji was right, then,” he said.

“Yes.”

But, despite the situation, Ann still seemed concerned.

“He didn’t get everything right, though,” she muttered.

“What do you mean?”

Ann looked to the side, hugging her own arms. She took some time to organize her thoughts before proceeding.

“I hope this doesn’t sound weird, but…” She hesitated for a moment. “The truth is, I like him too. I think I had a crush on him since middle school, but since the three of us started to fight together in the Metaverse, I started to like him more than before, and you…” She made a pause, then continued in a lower voice. “I don’t know how it happened, but when I realized, I already liked you two.”

Akira simply looked at her for a while, and Ann started to play with her own hair, nervous.

“That was strange, wasn’t it?” she asked in a mutter.

“No. I…”

As much as Akira knew what he wanted to say, the words escaped him. He needed to make a big effort for a coherent answer to leave his mouth.

“I actually feel the same.”

His words made her stare at him, surprised.

“What?”

“You and Ryuji,” said Akira. “I like you both. Damn, I _love_ you both. But I never thought I had a chance… I mean, I thought you two liked each other already, so I…”

He didn’t know how to finish his phrase, but it seemed to be enough for Ann to understand. For a long while, they just looked at each other in disbelief.

“I don’t know what to say,” admitted Ann.

“Me neither.”

It seemed like too much information for his mind to process at once, like it was too good to be true. He repeated Ann’s words on his mind, trying to find out how he had misinterpreted them, but couldn’t find an answer. Only then he was able to clearly understand the situation, and a strong feeling of euphoria filled his chest.

“Can I have a hug?” he asked.

Ann’s face was taken by a wide, sweet smile.

“Of course you can!” she said with a half-laugh.

They stood up and Akira walked to her, embracing her waist while she did the same to his neck. Physical contact was something common between the two of them and Ryuji, but knowing that there was a deeper meaning to that hug was enough to make his heart race.

“This isn’t how I expected things to go today,” admitted Ann after a while.

“Tell me about it.”

They moved away, only enough so they could look at each other’s faces.

“What are we going to do about this?” she asked. “I mean… There’s three of us.”

“Well, this should make things easier,” said Akira. “We all like each other, right? Who cares if it’s weird to others or not.”

“You have a point.”

As soon as she said that, a small giggle left her lips.

“So,” she said, “there’s a chance I’m going to have not only one, but two annoying boyfriends?”

“Admit it, you love the idea.”

“Maybe I do.” Her smile faltered a little. “Do you think Ryuji will be fine with this?”

“I’ll be mad if he doesn’t… He’s the one who started all this.” Akira thought for a second. “We’ll have to wait until his fever goes down to talk about it, though.”

Ann agreed with a nod.

“Do you think he’s going to believe us?” she asked.

“Probably not…” Akira sighed, imagining the amount of denial and self-doubt that was yet to come. “But we’ll find a way to make it go inside his head.”

“Punishment for being such an open-mouth.”

“It wasn’t bad this time, though.”

“That’s true…” A slightly devilish smile took her lips. “But I’m still looking forward to his reaction. Hopefully, he won’t remember any of this when he wakes up… Can you imagine his shock?”

She laughed to herself, seeming way too pleased with the idea.

“You’re terrible, Ann,” said Akira.

“Are you saying that you’re not looking forward to it?”

Akira averted his gaze, unable to hold back a grin.

“Maybe a little,” he admitted.

They went back to Ryuji’s bedroom. Akira carefully got on the bed, lying between Ryuji’s back and the wall. Ann did the same, lying in front of Ryuji, placing a light kiss on his forehead.

“He’ll be so confused when he wakes up…” commented Akira.

“It’s his own fault,” answered Ann.

“That we love him?”

Ann’s response was a soft smile, which Akira soon returned. They reached for each other’s hand, intertwining their fingers over Ryuji’s hip, silently anticipating the moment when he would wake up.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope they won't be too cruel to Ryuji when he wakes up... ~~Spoiler: they will, but it'll be worth it in the end.~~
> 
> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the fic!


End file.
